Particle Size Distribution Controls the Threshold Between Net Sediment Erosion and Deposition in Suspended Load Dominated Flows

Dorrell, R. M.; Amy, L. A.; Peakall, J.; McCaffrey, W. D.

Abstract

©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. The central problem of describing most environmental and industrial flows is predicting when material is entrained into, or deposited from, suspension. The threshold between erosional and depositional flow has previously been modeled in terms of the volumetric amount of material transported in suspension. Here a new model of the threshold is proposed, which incorporates (i) volumetric and particle size limits on a flow's ability to transport material in suspension, (ii) particle size distribution effects, and (iii) a new particle entrainment function, where erosion is defined in terms of the power used to lift mass from the bed. While current suspended load transport models commonly use a single characteristic particle size, the model developed herein demonstrates that particle size distribution is a critical control on the threshold between erosional and depositional flow. The new model offers an order of magnitude, or better, improvement in predicting the erosional-depositional threshold and significantly outperforms existing particle-laden flow models.

Citation

Dorrell, R. M., Amy, L. A., Peakall, J., & McCaffrey, W. D. (2018). Particle Size Distribution Controls the Threshold Between Net Sediment Erosion and Deposition in Suspended Load Dominated Flows. Geophysical research letters, 45(3), 1443-1452. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl076489

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 23, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Feb 15, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 15, 2018
• Deposit Date: Mar 13, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 16, 2018
• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Print ISSN: 0094-8276
• Publisher: American Geophysical Union
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 1443-1452
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl076489
• Keywords: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Geophysics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/732540
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GL076489/abstract;jsessionid=FF84807DA36BA0413ADC5FE33ADD0402.f03t01
• Contract Date: Mar 15, 2018